Racquet press



A. A. ALl -EN 2,818,257

RACQUET PRESS Filed July 23, 1952 Dec. 31, 1957 United States Patent@RACQUET PRESS Alexander Alfred Allen, Burton-on-Trent, EnglandAppliean'on July 23, 1952, Serial No. 300,428

4 Claims. (Cl. 273-74) This invention relates to racquet presses havingtwo frames between which the racquet is intended to be held, the framesbeing connected together by studs or the like.

It is usual for these frames to be urged apart by spring means, and anoperating device or devices is or are provided for compressing theframes together, against the spring action, to grip the racquet tightly.

The object of this invention is to provide a press which will be simpleand inexpensive to manufacture and quick and easy to operate.

According to the present invention one end of each of the studs extendsabove the frame and is bent round to form a closed loop which is higherat one end nearer the centre of the press than at the other end nearerthe outer edge of the press, the outer ends of operating levers beingbent at right angles and located in these loops, so that when the pressis opened by raising the levers their ends are in the higher ends of theloops, while when the levers are pressed down to close up the press, theends of the levers move into the lower ends of the loops, where there isinsufficient clearance to receive them, except by compressing the framestogether against the spring action.

The parts are so proportioned that in the tightening movement the leverscan move slightly beyond the dead centre position, so that their innerends are in actual contact with the face of the press frame, and thusthere is no tendency for them to open out again unless definitelyoperated.

The inner ends of the levers may be connected together by extending themparallel with each other across the press and enclosing them in a sheathto hold them together, so that the levers can be operated simultaneouslyby one movement.

The studs with their looped extensions and also the operating levers canall be formed out of stout wire or thin rod material, which isinexpensive and provides a simple manner of construction, since the samematerial can be used for both studs and levers.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings:

Figure l is a plan of the press.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a section on the line IIIIII of Figure 1.

The press consists of two frames each of the same four-cornered shape asseen in Figure 1, and the frames are secured together by a stud 11 ateach corner. Each stud has a spring 12 fitted round it tending to urgethe frames 10 apart. The upper ends of the studs (as viewed in thedrawings) extend above the surface of the upper frame 10 and are bentround at 11 so that each part 11 forms a closed loop which is higher atthe inner end than at the outer end, as can be clearly seen in Figure 3.Four operating levers 13, 14, 15, 16 are provided and their outer endsare bent at right angles as shown at 13 14 15 and 16 and are locatedwithin the looped parts 11*. When the press is open to allow a racquetto be inserted or withdrawn, that is to say when the levers 13, 14, 15,16 are raised, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, the lever ice ends13 14, 15 16 lie in the higher parts of the loops. When the levers arepressed down flat, and slightly beyond the dead centre or horizontalposition, so that their inner ends are in actual contact with the faceof the press frame, as shown in Figure l and in firm lines in Figure 2,the lever ends 13 14 15 16 move down the looped parts 11 into the outerends of the loops, and in this movement they exert a leverage againstthe narrowing loop and force the press frames together, thus tighteningup the frames to grip a racquet. A small plate 17 is fastened to the topface of the upper press frame at each corner and the studs 11 passthrough the plates and are bent round and have their ends attached to orpassed through the plates to close the loops 11 The inner ends of eachpair of levers are extended across the press parallel with each otherand close together, as shown at 18, so that each pair of levers 13, 16and 14, 15 consists of one length of stout wire or thin rod bent to thedesired shape. The parallel parts 18 are enclosed within a sheath 19 tohold them together and serve as a handle; the sheath 19 is welded orotherwise fixed to one of the parts 18 and the other part 18 is free torotate slightly in the sheath as the levers are operated. The studs havethe usual adjusting nuts 20 on their opposite ends and the bottom frame10 (as viewed in the drawings) is countersunk to allow these adjustingnuts to be flush. Obviously instead of the sheath 19 any suitable handlemember could be attached to the levers.

I claim:

1. A racquet press comprising a pair of frames, said frames each beingof quadrilateral four-cornered shape four studs connecting the framestogether in spaced parallel relation said studs being located one neareach of the four corners of the frames, a coil spring fitted round eachstud, said springs bearing against said frames and tending to urge theframes apart, an end region on each stud said end region extending abovethe frame and being bent round to form a closed loop which is higher atthe part of it which is nearer the centre of the press and taperstowards the part of it which is further away from the centre of thepress, the loops on one side being oriented along a common lineextending through the center of the studs on such side, and the loops onthe other side being oriented along a common line extending through thecenter of the studs on said last named side, operating leversoperatively connected with the press, such operative connectionincluding bent end regions on said operating levers, said bent endregions being located one in each of said closed loops, said operatinglevers and said studs together with their end regions all being made ofthin rod-like material, said levers being pivotally raisable from thepress, in which position their bent ends are in the higher parts of theloops, said levers being also capable of being pressed down on to thepress whereupon their bent ends move into the tapered parts of theloops, where there is insufiicient clearance to receive them except bycompressing the frames together against the spring action.

2. A racquet press as claimed in claim 1 in which the length of thelevers is slightly greater than the distance between the studs spacerson the frame through each of which a stud passes so that when levers arepressed down on to the press they can move slightly beyond the deadcenter position so that they are in contact with one of the press framesand there is no tendency for them to open out again until definitelyoperated.

3. A racquet press as claimed in claim 1 having the levers formed in twopairs each pair consisting of a single length of material bent to shapeso as to provide the two levers with their bent end regions and astraight connecting portion.

4. A racquet press as claimed in claim 1 having the levers formed in twopairs each pair consisting of a single length of material bent to shapeso as to provide the two 0 a 4 levers with their bent-endregions and astraight connect- 1,796,596 Flower Mar. 17, 1931 .ingtportion,v thetwo-connecting"portions .beingrsituated 1,914,086 Gates June 13,1933 closealongside each other-land being operable together FOREIGN PATENTS sothat all four levers are operated simultaneously by .meansof theseconnecting portions. 5 201804 Great i 1909 464,014 Great Br1ta1n Apr. 9,1937 Referenees Citedtin the filesof thispatent 642,059 Great BritainAug. 23, 1950 UNITED STATES-PATENTS 1,786,577 Purcell Dec. 30,1930 10

